“[…] The singer managed to hold some notes in the upper register that were compelling and reinforced the emotional tone of the composition – a pensive, meditative, self-reflective vibe. […] The band is a group of pretty young looking dudes from Melbourne and they sound a helluva lot better than they look. When I talk about ‘looks’, I don’t mean their physical appearance. I’m talking more about their stage presence. They’re like high school AP music kids: super-preoccupied with hitting each note right, everyone staring at either their instruments, their fingers, or the floor. […] [T]hey really do start to draw you in as they layer slow building guitar riffs over a building keyboard over building drums until it’s a damn powerful wall of music filling the space inside that little church […].
THOUGHTS:I’d thought that I’d be over female fronted, beat-driven, electro pop, but wow … MØ was something else. Her live show was something fierce. She may have been criticized for her “off” performance with Iggy Azalea on Saturday Night Live, but I’ve witnessed MØ performing live, and she is a powerhouse performer. Stage diving, and stage walking, throughout her set, engaging the audience with her piercing eyes and impressing me with her unexpected stage presence and voice, I was blown away. I’m willing to make this prediction … she’ll be making the festival rounds next year, and she’ll be performing on the main stages. Guaranteed.
THOUGHTS: I don’t know how many times can I say it. I love this band. When I first saw them play opening for Omar Souleyman, I knew that I’d have to see them play again. Catching them at Culture Collide was my third time this year (the second time was at Echo Park Rising). I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. If you’re a fan of the post-punk sounds of the Talking Heads, I’m sure you’ll dig this band. They are heading out on tour for the month of November, and I suggest you buy a ticket and check them out. Seriously. Buy a ticket. Check these guys out.
THOUGHTS: Holy Child is a lot of fun. If you’re looking for uptempo, energetic pop music with a beat, this is the band for you. They call their music “brat pop”, and I really couldn’t argue with the categorization. Their front woman, Liz, is a sprite full of energy, and I couldn’t help but be infused with the energy she gave out. They have a residency coming up at the Echoplex’s sister venue, The Echo, and I may have to make the trek out to Echo Park to catch them perform again.
If you are music lover living in Los Angeles, and you failed to take advantage of the musical offerings from all around the world at Culture Collide for $30, shame on you.
Now in its fifth year, Culture Collide took over the Echo Park area of Sunset Boulevard with a diverse plethora of bands from around the globe. Bands traveled from Korea, Peru, Israel and other far reaches of the globe to bless us with their musical offerings.
Whether you are a fan of EDM or disco, hip hop or garage rock, folk or goth, Culture Collide had it all. Below are some of the bands that we were able to catch. If you were able to catch any of these bands at the festival, relive some of those moments by clicking on the links. If you decided to skip out on attending the festival, check out what you foolishly missed out on.
THOUGHTS: When people ask me what music has been turning me on lately, I usually rattle off a list new LP’s that I’ve purchased at the local record shop. The one album that hasn’t left that list? The War On Drugs’ “Lost In The Dream”.
I remember when I bought the LP. I was thumbing through some racks of LPs at Origami Vinyl, when the text of “Limited Edition” and “Purple Vinyl” on the sticker caught my eye: “. Silly as it may be, since I’m a collector, things like that always interest me. I asked the proprietor about the album, and he told me that it was a solid album, giving me the history behind the band (how founding member Kurt Vile left the band in 2011, leaving Adam Granduciel to helm the band) and suggesting that if I purchased it, he was pretty sure I wouldn’t be disappointed. He was correct. In fact, he had gotten me to purchase an album that I have very high on list of “best albums of the year”. Well done, Origami Vinyl.
The album is brilliant. It’s a cohesive masterpiece of brilliantly engaging, dreamy rock, melding understated synths with soaring guitar licks. The album is only 10 tracks deep, and runs slightly over an hour, but the listening experience seems to conclude too early, as if the “dream” is the music causing the listener to get “lost” in it. A dream that you simply don’t want to wake up from. The lyrics, honest and emotional, is Adam’s voice … but really, it’s the voice of the everyman. When he sings about that moment of realizing heartbreak or admitting depression, he’s really writing, whether he meant to or not, for everyone one who has been there.
The War On Drugs’ live show is just as amazing as their album. Pulling from the band’s entire catalog, their set, and pardon the pun, was like an ocean with waves (a song of theirs is titled “An Ocean Between The Waves”). From sublime smoothness, to relentless ardor, the room swelled with the kind of natural energy only great music can create; hitting the right peaks and valleys with an emotional fervor.
And the music was played to perfection. Though they may have jammed out, extending songs longer than what are on the album, I closed my eyes at times and couldn’t hear the difference. The musicianship, and the technicality with which they played, was effortless.
After their performance, I hung out a while to see if I could get Adam to sign the LP that I had lugged with me in my camera bag. As his band was on stage taking down their equipment, I asked a stage hand as to whether Adam would be cool signing the LP for me. He shouted up to Adam and he jumped from the stage to greet me. A very real, and modest man, he was happy to sign my LP and was genuinely pleased (I could see it in his eyes) when I told him that their performance blew my mind. I asked him some more questions about the rest of his tour, and then went on my way; but needless to say, knowing that the man behind the music was as genuine and modest as the other, looking me in the eyes and paying attention to me with my small talk, made me appreciate his art more than ever.
THOUGHTS: Closing out the Way Over Yonder festival was Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Jackson Browne. Jackson Browne has recorded and released 14 albums during his prolific career. His latest album, “Standing In The Breach”, was released this year and his set was heavy with new material from the album. Though his music doesn’t necessarily “rock” my world (I’m more of a James Taylor fan), I can still appreciate the impact his music has had on the world. After all, not many artists from the early 70s can be deemed the “quintessential sensitive California singer/songwriter”.
THOUGHTS:If Little Hurricane was my surprise set on Friday, Nathaniel Rateliff was my surprise set on Saturday. Nathaniel is a burly gentleman with a scraggly beard, but his music, for the most part, was blissfully soft and emotional. Playing a set with just his voice and acoustic guitar, for moments, I got lost in his music, and I stopped taking pictures and/or recorded Instagram clips. His music reminded me of Iron and Wine, and it truly seemed to be coming from an intensely emotional place. As I was watching his performance from the eye of my zoom lens, I could see him envelop himself in his music, his eyes seemingly welling up with emotions. It was a personal, powerful set and I could only watch his performance with respect as he lay his soul out for the world (at least at Way Over yonder) to see.
THOUGHTS: I was really looking forward to seeing/hearing Heartless Bastards live, but sound problems at the start of their set didn’t really give me a chance really appreciate what I know this band is capable of. Granted, I only stayed for the first half of their set (I had to photograph another artist whose set had started) and, as you can tell from the Instagram video clips bellows (that I filmed as I was walking to the other state) their sound issues did get better. But, I think I’ll reserved my opinions … until I can catch them in concert again.
THOUGHTS: I had never heard of Linda Perhacs before Way Over Yonder, but when I googled her name, I found a Wikipedia entry that revealed to me that she had recorded her first album in 1970 titled “Parallelograms”. Further research revealed that this psychdelic folk album, though not commercially successful when it was initially released, was having its own modern day renaissance. Highly rated by many critics and online resources, the album has been reissued on several occasions over the years. It took over 40 years, but Ms. Perhacs finally recorded and released her sophomore album, “The Soul of All Natural Things” earlier this year.
#DKLPHOTOS 